


Trick or Treat

by dark_wing19



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Drama, Halloween, Holidays, Humor, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Reader-Insert, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26260981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dark_wing19/pseuds/dark_wing19
Summary: Trick or Treat boxes mysteriously appear around Namimori High, and it sends the school into a frenzy. Why does everyone want to be noticed? What's the big deal about all these charms and curses?But most importantly, who is this Watcher everyone speaks of?Prompt: Trick or Treat~For: RyuseiStreamGirl[Written for the "Haunted and Magical" Fic Trade, October 2012]
Kudos: 5





	Trick or Treat

**Author's Note:**

> This story came out _**waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay**_ longer than I anticipated for it to be. Dx Somehow, 2k turned into over 8k. OTL I've also had much difficulty with this in the editing sense. I don't know why, but my brain went on a grammatical meltdown. I apologize for that in advance. Originally, the prompt was given for Hibari/Reader, but as we all know, Hibari is nearly impossible to write fluff or romance for. ~~Not to mention that I fail at fluff and romance anyway...~~ Thus, I decided to try and write something in the mystery/suspense category! This is my first time writing in that genre, so it might not be all that great. ^^;; But it's the thought that counts, right? And I tried. I really, really tried to keep everyone in character. Dx  
>   
> I would like to point out a few things before we continue on with the story. There are special terms in the story, as you will see, that have slightly different meanings. I tried to make them clear, but if they don't come across right, please let me know.  
>   
> [ Tsuna's Ring](http://www.forevermetals.com/carved-raised-surfaces/oracle-celtic-knotwork-tungsten-rings/images/reg_oracle_7mm_celtic_ring.jpg)  
>   
> [Reader's Earrings](http://www.etsy.com/listing/96077184/lucite-flower-earrings-blue-foxglove?ref=sr_gallery_17&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=lululily&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) (Just change the colors to a gold clasp and indigo beads.)  
>   
> I worked really hard on this, and I like the way it turned out! I hope you like it too, RyuseiStreamGirl!!  
>   
> Before I forget, I'd like to thank **Rei** and **Nia** for looking over this for me~ Thank you so much!  
>   
> Reviews are always appreciated and welcomed~ Enjoy!  
>   
>  **Disclaimer** : I do not own KHR, the reader, the pictures, the music, or anything else recognizable. Names are purely coincidental. I _do_ own any OCs mentioned, and I _do_ own the idea/plot for this story. Please respect that!!!  
>   
> 
> 
> **[ Inspirational music~](http://www.infinitelooper.com/?v=NZkNjxfUQaQ#/0;92)**  
> 
> 
>   
> 

October 1st Namimori High School

"Ahh! I got one! The boxes are back, and I actually got one!" a girl shrieked in excitement when she noticed the neatly wrapped package on her desk. She immediately rushed to it and delicately lifted the small box in her hands. 

"It's so pretty! I hope I get one!" another girl stated as she watched the spectacle in excitement. 

"Hurry up and open it to see what you got!" a male student ushered. 

Gingerly, she pulled on the black ribbon tied at the top of the box and removed the decorative paper. In cellophane wrapping, a little bundle of various candies sat nestled in the box. The girl squealed in delight and removed the bag with a wide grin on her face. An uproar of cheers and chatter spread like wildfire through the classroom as students talked about the reemergence of the Halloween tradition. 

"I hope I get noticed this year!" one student quipped. 

"Me, too!" added another.

The chatter came to a screeching halt when the classroom door slammed open. The head of Namimori High's Disciplinary Committee, Hibari Kyoya, stood in the doorway with a piercing glare directed at the room's occupants. His relatively quiet morning had been effortlessly ruined by the disruptive amount of noise that reverberated down the hall, and he was determined to find out the cause behind such an outburst and put an end to it. Slate blue irises surveyed the room until his steely gaze landed on the package in the girl's hand. 

Apparently, it was _that_ time of year again.

"Herbivore," Hibari said icily with his gaze directed at the girl, "put that away, and do not bring it back out. Any more disturbances over _those_ will result in punishment."

In unison, the students slowly nodded their heads as he scanned the room one last time. Satisfied with their submission, he took his leave and walked down the hallway with his thoughts consumed by the recent event. Ever since he entered Namimori High, that blasphemous tradition of Trick or Treat boxes manifested and sent the entire school into a frenzy until the end of October. The students were always thrilled by it, but he saw it as a nuisance. Those obnoxious boxes always caused unnecessary crowding around the school and ridiculous amounts of noise. 

He absolutely hated them.

He wanted to end the absurd tradition and return his school back to normal, but one thing prevented him from doing it; he had no idea who was behind the delivery of the boxes. In previous years, he investigated the event in order to narrow down his suspects, but every year turned out the same. Each year, he got close to the discovery of the culprit, but they always slipped below his intense radar and remained undetected. It severely irritated him that someone could remain hidden from him for _any_ amount of time.

Though his previous years proved fruitless, he was determined to unveil the identity of the Watcher. 

And when he did, someone would be bitten to death.

October 3rd Namimori High School

Tsuna shifted the small box from one hand to the other as he examined the orange wrapping curiously. The box was mysteriously on his desk when he came back from gym, and nothing was on the outside except for a small, white tag with his name printed on it. He had placed the box in his bag and out of sight during class, but his thoughts remained consumed by the inanimate object. His birthday was the only reason that came to mind of why someone would give him a gift, but who would give him something and not disclose a name?

"Hey, Tenth," Gokudera said as he approached Tsuna. "Huh? What's that?"

"I don't exactly know. I found it on my desk earlier," Tsuna responded and walked down the hall with Gokudera. "I don't even know who sent it."

"Careful, it might be a bomb," Gokudera said as he eyed the package suspiciously.

"I doubt it's a bomb. Besides, it's not making a noise. Wouldn't there be ticking if it was a bomb?" Before Gokudera could respond, the two reached their destination and entered the classroom where the Newspaper Committee held its meetings. Tsuna originally refused to join the committee, but Reborn had different plans in mind. The hitman claimed it was "good practice" for information gathering as well as organizing paperwork. Reluctantly, Tsuna eventually caved and joined. Gokudera, of course, joined as soon as he knew Tsuna enlisted. 

"It could be trigger operated," Gokudera said and took a seat in one of the empty chairs around the U-shaped table. 

"What could be trigger operated?" you asked from your seat across the table with a curious glance.

"A box I received. I just found it on my desk when I came back from gym. The room was empty, so I don't know who left it," Tsuna said and sat the small container on the table as he took a seat himself. 

"Uh! You got one of the Trick or Treat boxes?! You lucky dog!"

"Good afternoon, Haruka-chan," you said and shifted your gaze to the brunette in the doorway of the classroom. Ishikawa Haurka was both the ardent, head journalist of Namimori High's Newspaper Committee and your best friend. Though her sleuth skills and feisty attitude made for a great paper, they were terrible for finesse and discrete situations.

"Dude, you're so lucky. I wish I got one!" She stomped over to the table and examined the little box.

"Huh?" Tsuna questioned with an equally confused expression. 

"What she means is that you got one of the special Trick or Treat boxes," you informed and placed your chin in your palm. "Have you heard about them?"

Tsuna shook his head in response.

"What?! How could you not have heard? It's, like, the best event that goes on during this time of year," Haruka added as she flopped into a chair. 

"You forget that these two are first years, Haruka-chan. They haven't been here as long as we have, so the chances of them knowing about these boxes are slim," you said and lifted an eyebrow at the overzealous brunette. 

"Right, right. I keep forgetting that they're younger than us." Haruka then crossed her arms and kicked her feet up on the table. With a firm swat of your hand, you pushed her feet off of the table and earned a small pout from the girl. You simply rolled your eyes and focused your attention back on the males.

"We _can_ still hear you. Since we apparently don't know, would you mind explaining it to us?" Gokudera asked irritably.

"Since you asked so nicely," you said sarcastically and pushed the thin framed glasses higher on your nose. "Every year around Halloween, there's been this tradition of Trick or Treat boxes that mysteriously appear out of nowhere. Supposedly, there's a person called the Watcher that watches the students and documents the good and bad things they do. When somebody receives a Trick or Treat box, it means that they've been noticed by the Watcher."

"Yeah! And almost everyone hopes to be noticed in order to get one of those sweet boxes! All kinds of exciting goodies are inside them. They say that if you are noticed for something good, then you get all kinds of yummy treats or small gifts, but if it's for something bad, then you get gross and unlucky things," Haruka added. 

"That does sound kind of exciting," Tsuna said.

"But there's a darker side to the tradition," you added.

"What do you mean by 'darker'?" Gokudera questioned and eyed you suspiciously. 

"The story goes that you can receive other things besides candy and prizes. You see, you can also get these things called 'charms' or 'curses' in your box. From the stories we've heard, there's usually a strip of paper attached to a small trinket in the box with a fortune written on it. Depending on what the fortune says, you can get either a charm if you're good or a curse if you're bad," Haruka said as she lightly tapped her fingers on the table. 

"Tch, I don't see what's so terrible about a charm or curse. It's not like there's really anything to be afraid of," Gokudera said as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. 

"Quite the contrary, actually. No matter what the fortune says, it _always_ comes true,' you supplied. "I heard someone had gotten a cursed fortune last year and had terrible nightmares the nights that followed." 

"I remember that. He would randomly shout in class that something was crawling on him. It was really weird," Haruka added. 

"I-I'm not too sure I want to open this now..." Tsuna murmured to himself and glanced down at the box on the table. 

"I also heard that a girl, who had gotten a _charmed_ fortune, ended up dating her crush of two years!" Haruka added and clasped her hands together in approval. "So you see, you _have_ to open it! It could be something really good!"

"Or something really bad. It all just depends on what you were noticed for," you chimed in. 

Tsuna gulped and eyed the little box with unease. Even though his chances were even, he remained skeptical about the gift. He kept to himself in school and never caused any harm, but had the Watcher possibly found out about his secret mafia life? Would it constitute for being bad? 

"Just open it." A green mallet suddenly hurled through the door and made contact with the back of Tsuna's head. After the abrasive contact his forehead made with the table, his head shot up and turned in the direction he heard the voice. Reborn stood on top of the wooden desk at the front of the room as his little, green companion scuttled along the floor and up the desk to his master. 

"Reborn?! What are you doing here?" Tsuna shouted and jumped up from his seat. 

"I'm your substitute representative," Reborn responded calmly. 

"Oh? What happened to Takamoto-sensei?" you asked with mild curiosity.

"He won a raffle for deep sea diving and decided to take an early vacation," Reborn informed.

"Huh? I didn't know Takamoto-sensei liked that sort of stuff. I thought he said he was afraid of sharks..." you mulled to yourself. Tsuna, on the other hand, gave Reborn a deadpanned expression. If his gut feeling was correct, then Reborn probably rigged the raffle in order to get rid of the teacher.

"Until Takamoto-sensei returns from his vacation, I will be your teacher representative," Reborn replied with a minuscule smirk.

"Oh, okay," Haruka said with a bright smile. "I'm Ishikawa Haruka, the lead journalist and in charge of what articles we write. The quiet one over there with glasses is (L/n) (Y/n), the head editor for the newspaper. Both of us are third years and seniors of the committee. Due to Tsuna's little outburst, I assume that you already know those two. Quite frankly, their roles are pretty moot at the moment, so we generally stick them in any position that needs to be filled." 

"Hey! Who the hell are you calling 'moot'?!" Gokudera shouted in response. 

"As for the rest of the members, they haven't arrived yet," you supplied and leaned back in your seat. 

"Hmm," Reborn hummed to himself before his attention turned back to Tsuna. "Were you going to open the box or not?"

All eyes turned to Tsuna as he sat back in his chair, and after a moment of debate, he reached out and picked up the orange box. Carefully, he unwrapped the package and peered inside. An expression mixed of curiosity and confusion crossed his features as he pulled out a metallic ring with a white strip of paper attached to it. 

"Hm? What does it say?" you asked, intrigued by the small gift. Everyone crowded around Tsuna in order to look at the fortune attached to the ring. 

"It says, _'In the future, you will see. Dame-Tsuna, no longer be.'_ Hmm, how cryptic," Haruka read and crossed her arms in thought. "I wonder what it could mean. It's obviously a charm, so I don't think there's anything to worry about."

Tsuna read the fortune again and looked at the metal ring in his hand. It was a simple, silver band with an intricate, Celtic weave etched on the outside while the inside had _guidance_ , _intuition_ , and _luck_ engraved in it. Though the present left him miffed, he was certain that the Watcher knew of his unwanted, future role in the mafia world. Carefully, he took the fortune off and slipped the ring on his left index finger.

After another fifteen minutes, the rest of the Newspaper Committee finally arrived and took their assigned seats around the table. 

"Alright! Now that everyone is finally here, let's begin the committee meeting!" Haruka said and straightened the few loose sheets of paper in front of her. "First off, I would like to congratulate everyone for last month's successful paper. I've heard nothing but compliments for the new culinary section we added, so many thanks to Hanajima-san and her mother for the wonderful recipes they contributed." 

A small round of applause circled the room while the short, ebony headed girl blushed furiously at the attention. 

"Let's get down to business. We need to make this month's paper more exciting and memorable than the one we did last month. Any ideas?" Haruka asked as she looked at the other members.

"Since Halloween is this month, why don't we feature the paper about that?" you inquired.

"Hmm," Haruka hummed and snapped her fingers, "I like it! But what in particular are we going to put in it?"

"We could do an article about costumes," one girl quipped. 

"Oh! We can do one about ghost stories!" a male member added.

"And I can even ask my mom about some good Halloween recipes!" Hanajima chimed. 

"I like those ideas! But none of them seem headline worthy to me...Ghost stories would be a good one, but I think they're overdone. I want something more original for this month's main story, but what?" Haruka mulled aloud and leaned back in her seat with her arms crossed. 

In the middle of their discussion, Reborn jumped down from the wooden desk and hopped up on the table between Tsuna and Gokudera. He picked up and examined the small box Tsuna received before he expressed his own thoughts.

"What about these boxes? You seem to be quite knowledgeable about them, and you even said that they're a spectacle throughout the school. Why not do your cover story about them?" 

"Sensei! You are a genius! That is an absolutely wonderful idea!! Not only would it be memorable, but it would also inform the first years about it!" Haruka exclaimed with vigor. "Alright! Now that we have that established, it's time to divide into teams. Hanajima, you're in charge of the culinary section; Sasaki and Yoshida will be in charge of getting the ghost stories; Fujioka and Okazaki will be in charge of the costumes; while Sawada, Gokudera, (L/n), and I work on the main article."

"Huh?!" Tsuna exclaimed. 

"Way to go, Tenth! We get to work on the main article!" Gokudera cheered.

"Any further questions?" Haruka asked.

"W-wait! I'm not sure--" Tsuna started.

"Great!" Haruka interrupted. "Stories are due in two weeks! You are dismissed!" 

"But the only things we know are what you two told us," Tsuna said in a worried voice while various members packed up their belongings and left the room to start on their articles.

"What you two have to do isn't all that complicated. Your job is to go around the school and get stories from people who received Trick or Treat boxes last year. Haruka-chan and I will take care of the rest," you informed. 

"Oh. That doesn't sound too hard," Tsuna replied. 

As the four of them left the room, they missed the glint in the small hitman's eyes.

October 5th Namimori High School

The narrowed eyes of Hibari watched as a male student suspiciously walked through the hallway. The male looked paranoid and nervous as he peered over his shoulder before he entered the empty classroom. Hibari quickly followed and slammed the door open with enough force to startle the young man inside. Blue irises surveyed the room and landed on the black and orange wrapped box placed on an empty desk across the room. Immediately, Hibari pulled out a tonfa and raised it to the male's neck as he pinned him to the wall.

"W-wait! It's not what you think! I-I'm not the one behind them!" the boy stuttered as he pleaded with the tonfa wielding Perfect.

"Explain," Hibari stated and glared at the male.

"I-I was told to deliver it," he supplied.

"By whom?" Hibari growled in annoyance. 

"I-I don't know! They had on a mask sh-shaped like a fox and g-golden eyes," the terrified male squeaked in response. Hibari continued to glare at the boy but removed his tonfa from the male's throat. His irises slid to the corner of his eyes and glanced back at the wrapped package on the desk before they turned back to the boy. He suddenly brought his tonfa up and made contact with the side of the student's head. A surprised cry of pain escaped from the male, and he immediately lifted his hand to the spot of contact in order to soothe the pain.

"Don't do it again," Hibari said venomously. The male shakily nodded and scrambled from the room. Hibari looked back at the box innocently perched on the desk and fell deep into thought. From what he gathered, the culprit was either a third year or a teacher. It didn't narrow down the possibilities too much, but it was a start. With the newly found information about the fox mask and golden eyes, maybe his search would turn up more fruitful. 

With his men on high alert to aid in his search, he left the classroom and continued his own investigation.

Octber 8th Namimori High School

"Yasukawa-san?" Tsuna questioned as he approached a female student with her brown tresses pulled up into a bun. She turned around and gave Tsuna a surprised look.

"Yes?" she inquired.

"Um, h-hi. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi from the Newspaper Committee, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions," Tsuna asked meekly.

"Oh, sure," she answered and took a seat at one of the empty tables in the library. "What would you like to know?" 

"I would like to ask you about the Trick or Treat boxes. In particular, the one you received last year," Tsuna informed. Immediately, Yasukawa stiffened in her seat with a slightly nervous expression.

"Wh-why would you want to ask that?" she asked unevenly. 

"Well, our main article this month is about them, and I heard that you got one last year," Tsuna said in a nervous tone.

"O-oh. Um...sure. I guess I can tell you a bit about it," Yasukawa said after a moment of hesitation. Tsuna pulled out a notepad and pen from his bag and opened it to a fresh page. 

"Alright, let's start off with your name, year, and class," Tsuna said as he placed his pen to paper.

"My name is Yasukawa Izumi, I'm a second year, and I'm in class 2-B," she supplied.

"Okay, tell me about your box and what happened," Tsuna said cautiously. 

"It was a few days before Halloween when I found the box in my gym locker. Just like everyone else, I was excited to be one of the selected people to get one. I was unaware that good _or_ bad things were in the boxes, so I just assumed it would be something nice like chocolate. But," Yasukawa said before she paused, "I wasn't prepared for what was inside."

"What was it?" Tsuna asked with genuine curiosity. 

"It...it was a dog collar. It was a dog collar with a small strip of paper attached to it."

"A dog collar? What was on the slip of paper?" An uneasy feeling settled in the bottom of Tsuna's stomach. 

" _'Pets are meant to be much joy. You should learn, they're not a toy.'_ A-at first, I didn't think anything of it. I went home, put the pretty collar on my puppy, and went about my daily routine. It wasn't until nighttime when things fell apart," Yasukawa said quietly before she made direct eye contact with Tsuna. "That night, I had the worst nightmare of my entire life. I dreamed that I tortured my poor puppy. There was blood all over her white coat, and her pitiful whimpers made me want to cry! Even when I woke up from that horrid dream, I couldn't get the image out of my head. For a solid week, I dreamed that my puppy died in some cruel way."

Tears welled in Yasukawa's eyes, but she tried her hardest to hold them back. Tsuna got up and grabbed a tissue from the box on a nearby table and gave it to her, which she graciously accepted and wiped away the bits of saline that cascaded down her cheek. After she quickly blew her nose, she continued with her story. 

"I lost so much sleep that week. I was so relieved when those nightmares finally ended. I removed that cursed collar from my puppy and threw it away. The only _good_ thing that came from it was appreciation for my puppy. Even to this day, I play with her every day and love her to pieces. I don't think I would ever want another one of those boxes."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience, but I thank you for sharing your story with me," Tsuna said after he wrote the final bits of her story down on paper. 

"You're welcome. I-I have to get to class now. You probably should, too. Bye, Sawada-kun," Yasukawa said and gathered her books before she hurried out of the library. Tsuna closed his notebook and placed it back in his bag with a troubled expression on his face. Though he was warned about the curses, he was unaware of the severity they presented. Sepia colored orbs flickered to the ring on his index finger before he got up and left the library himself.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of golden eyes gleamed as they watched Tsuna's departure.

October 11th Namimori High School

"Alright, so let me get this straight: you got a box, opened it, and found a phone charm with a fortune inside?" Gokudera asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yep! It was the most _adorable_ little charm! It was a cute, white bunny with fuzz all around it," the girl cooed as she remembered the gift she received the previous year. 

'What did the fortune say?" Purposely, Gokudera avoided any more chatter about the phone charm. He personally found the girl's excitement rather unbearable but knew he had a job to do. 

"The fortune? Ummm....I think it had something to do with getting good calls or something. I didn't really pay much attention to it," she said and earned a barely audible growl from the Gokudera. "But! I _do_ remember that I called a radio station and won concert tickets to my favorite band!" 

"You won tickets?" Gokudera asked with interest. 

"Uh-huh! It was such a great concert, too! I wore this really cute, black skirt I bought on sale with an even cuter, pink top, and hey where are you going?!" 

"I think that's all the information I need," Gokudera ground out in his best effort to be polite. The girl's protests were ignored as Gokudera got up from his seat and left with the new goal of finding Tsuna.

Seriously, it wasn't necessary for him to hear all about her fashion. He got the information he needed and wanted to get out of the crowded classroom as soon as possible. Though, he was personally a little skeptical about the Trick or Treat box event. After all, how could it be possible for a given fortune to _always_ come true? There had to be something more to it, but what?

"You can't be freaking serious!" a female's voice came from an open door to one of the classrooms further down the hall. Chatter quickly filled the hallway and urged Gokudera to investigate the spectacle. Just as he reached the doorway, he was suddenly pushed to the side.

"Hey! What the hell?" Gokudera barked and turned to see who had pushed him. Haruka poked her head back through the doorway and blinked owlishly at him.

"Hi, Gokudera-kun. I didn't see you there. No time to talk, though. Another box was just discovered!" she said and popped back into the room. A bit intrigued and still riled by Haruka's rudeness, Gokudera crossed the threshold and stormed into the classroom. 

"What? Even _you_ got one?" another student commented. 

"Of course. After all, I **am** awesome enough to be noticed," a male said arrogantly with a cocky grin on his face. Gokudera recognized him as one of the star soccer players and a third year student, Minobe Akio. 

"Well, are you gonna open it or not?" one of his buddies urged and playfully punched Akio's arm. 

"Alright, alright. I guess I can let you guys see my awesome award." Akio quickly ripped the paper from the small box and threw the cover off. His face quickly contorted from a smug expression to an annoyed one. 

"What kind of 'treat' is this supposed to be?" Akio questioned and plucked the item from the box. A small, circular mirror sat in the palm of his hand with a thin slip of paper attached to it by a string. 

"Huh? A mirror?" his friend questioned. 

"What does the fortune say?" Haruka asked as she pushed her way closer to Akio with a notepad and pen in her hands. With an irritated sigh, he reached for the slip of paper and read the fortune. 

" _'You are not what people see. Your reflection holds the key.'_ What a lousy fortune," Akio said and lifted his palm to glance at the mirror. A look of horror overcame his features as he looked at his reflection. A grotesque monster with rubbery, green skin covered in slimy mucus looked back at him with haunting, yellow eyes and lifted its webbed hands before it lunged toward Akio. With a manly scream, he instantly dropped the mirror and backed away from the horrid object. The delicate piece of glass fell to the floor and shattered into tiny pieces that made a loud enough noise to silence the entire room. 

"Wh-what was that about?" Akio's friend questioned in a joking manner and reached out to place his hand on Akio's arm. As soon as Akio felt the contact, he immediately yanked his arm away and backed up until he hit a desk. 

"There was something freaky in that mirror. I-it was some sort of green monster," Akio stuttered out, obviously spooked by what he saw. 

"Um, Akio-kun? You _do_ realize you just dropped the mirror, right?" Haruka asked with an arched eyebrow. 

"Of course! Do you really think I was going to hold onto it while that _thing_ lunged at me?!" Akio snapped back.

"And you're also aware that it _broke_ , right?" Haruka urged. 

"You're point?" 

"A broken mirror equals seven years of bad luck. Didn't you know that?" she informed. The students around Akio slowly backed away from him once the realization was brought to light. 

"Come on, guys. You don't still believe in silly superstition, do you?" Akio questioned. "Kenta, you don't believe in that crap, right?"

"...Sorry, Akio. I don't want any bad luck in my life right now," Kenta responded and stepped away from him. 

"You have got to be freaking kidding me! Come _on_ , I'm still the same guy you all know," Akio pleaded as he walked toward a small group of girls across from him.

"Ew, no! Get away from us! We don't want to catch your bad luck!" one of them shrieked. The room then erupted into chaos as Akio tried to get someone on his side. 

As if he were summoned, Hibari stepped through the doorway and surveyed the chaos in the room. A deep frown marred his face and put his foul mood into an even worse one. For the past week, he had to deal with outbursts all over the school over those _stupid_ boxes. Not only did he have to punish rule breakers, but his search for the Watcher _infuriated_ him to no end. To say the least, he needed to release some of his frustration.

"Herbivore, for disrupting the peace and causing a riot, you will be bitten to death," Hibari said in an icy tone as he pulled out his tonfa and stalked toward Akio. In a matter of minutes, Akio became a bruised, bloody mess on the tiled floor. With a quick jerk of his hand, the bits of blood on Hibari's right tonfa slung down and landed on Akio's face. Hibari clenched his fist around the collar of Akio's shirt and pulled Akio's torso off the ground up to eye level with a single tug.

"When you can finally get back on your feet, clean up your mess, or else you'll face a worse punishment for littering." Hibari released his grip on Akio and let the male fall to the ground with a rough thud before he stood back up. His narrowed eyes swept across the room in satisfaction as he saw all the looks of horror. 

"Get back to class," Hibari ordered, and the students immediately began to file into their seats or back to their homerooms. He walked across the room toward the exit but stopped beside Haruka. She blinked at him with a wary glance before his tonfa made contact with the back of her head. 

"Ow! What was that for, Hibari-san?" Haruka asked and placed a hand to the back of her head. 

"For running in the hallway," Hibari said and walked out of the room. 

"Are you still having problems with your search?" Hibari turned toward the voice and spotted Reborn perched on the windowsill. Hibari grunted in response, obviously displeased to be called out for his failure, and continued down the hall.

"Why don't you ask the Newspaper Committee?" Reborn recommended and caused Hibari to stop in his tracks. At the suggestion, Hibari looked over at Reborn with a questioning expression. 

"Why?" was his response. 

"This month's paper is Halloween themed, and these boxes are the cover story," Reborn informed and held up the box Tsuna received his ring in. "They might have some helpful information." 

For a moment, Hibari thought about Reborn's suggestion. It was highly unlikely that the Newspaper Committee knew anything more than what he already knew, but he was willing to try just about anything. With a curt nod, he turned and continued back down the hallway to the Disciplinary Committee's headquarters. Reborn's onyx eyes followed Hibari before he turned and glanced at the opposite end of the hallway. 

Golden hues watched the scene from the shadows before they disappeared.

October 19th Namimori High School

"Hopefully everyone was able to find out some interesting info for the paper," Haruka said as the Newspaper Committee began its meeting. 

"We sure did," Fujioka said with a bright smile. "From the polls we took, the top two favored costumes are fairies and superheroes. Though, most of the guys voted that the maid costume is their favorite to _see_." 

"Figures," Haruka said and rolled her eyes. "Anything interesting about the ghost stories?"

"Let's see," Yoshida said as he looked over the paper in his hand. "Ah! Here's an interesting one we found. There's a rumor going around that the _school_ is actually haunted. Two years ago, a student committed suicide because of a terrible curse he got from the Watcher."

"You know? I think I remember hearing something about that," Haruka quipped.

"The ironic part is that he bullied and tortured his classmates. After that day, everyone's lives were better. Now I don't know if it's true or not, but it's said that his spirit comes back for only one night and wanders around the school."

"Ooooo, that actually sounds like a really good story!" Haruka said excitedly.

"Yeah, but all of this is just hearsay. No one actually knows if he does or not. We couldn't find anyone that actually encountered his spirit," Sasaki said in disappointment. 

"And I presume you found some deliciously scary treats for the culinary section, Hanajima-san?" Haruka asked with a sweet smile.

"You know it! Mom and I looked through all her old cookbooks and found a _ton_ of cookie, cake, and punch recipes!" Hanajima said enthusiastically. 

"Fantastic!" Haruka exclaimed before she pointed at Tsuna and Gokudera. "Now, what did you two find out about last year's boxes and victims?"

"N-not a whole lot, actually. We were only able to get eight people willing to tell us their stories. Three of them were charms, two were curses, and three were just candy," Tsuna said as he looked over the papers in his hands. 

"From what I could dig up, there were a grand total of fifteen boxes given out last year. Seven people either missed the memo that we were looking for them or they avoided us, but I'm willing to bet that those seven people all had curses," Gokudera informed. 

"Still, you guys did great for your first headline story," Haruka encouraged.

"And while the two of you were looking up last year's stories, Haruka and I did our own investigations. I did the history while Haruka worked on the present boxes," you said and shuffled around a few of your own papers. "You two were correct when you said there were fifteen boxes found last year. Haruka and I can both vouch for that. Peculiarly, there were also fifteen boxes given out the year before last."

'Really?" Tsuna asked curiously.

"Mhm. Oddly enough, fifteen boxes have been handed out every year since the tradition's beginning," you informed. "Unfortunately, I could only date the tradition back to three years ago."

"Still, that's better than nothing," Haruka said. 

"Were you able to find anything about the Watcher?" Reborn asked from his spot on the wooden desk at the front of the room. You paused for a moment and readjusted your glasses before you replied. 

"There wasn't much. The only things I could find were excruciatingly vague. From the few witness accounts I stumbled upon, the description matched as a female figure with a mask in the shape of a fox."

"A fox?" Gokudera asked with furrowed eyebrows. 

"Yep, a fox shaped mask. One thing I found consistent with all the stories I read were the haunting, golden eyes," you said and tapped your pen on the wooden table. 

"So a female with a fox mask and golden eyes?" Okazaki asked and quirked his eyebrow.

"Yep, happen to match any descriptions you know of?" you asked curiously.

"I don't think I've ever encountered anyone with golden eyes..." Sasaki said as she pondered over the many faces she knew. 

"Me neither," Haruka said and leaned back in her chair. "That aside, I've been keeping tabs on the current boxes and what they are. So far, there have been only nine boxes found. Four of them were just candy, three were charms, and two were curses."

"It seems more people were noticed for good things rather than bad this year," Hanajima mused. 

"So far, yes. Even though your stories are all due to be edited, I'm going to continue the search for the remaining six boxes. Hopefully, they will all appear before the final copy of the paper gets printed," Haruka said and stood up from her chair. "I know you all have other festivities to do, so I won't hold you guys up here. Just hand your stories to (Y/n)-chan, and she will take care of the rest like the awesome editor she is."

One by one, everyone handed their written articles to you and left until just you, Haruka, and Reborn remained. 

"Well, I better get to work on these. I have a lot of editing to do before next week," you said and gathered up everyone's papers. 

"Yeah, I need to go back out there and make sure another box isn't discovered without my knowing," Haruka said and stood up. 

"Be careful. We wouldn't want Hibari-san to whack you again," you teased.

"That was only ONE time!...That I got caught, anyway," Haruka defended, and the two of you shared a hearty laugh. Haruka grabbed her bag and left the room with a bright smile. You sighed and walked over to one of the computers across the room and sat down the stack of papers in your hand. You turned around to head out the door when your gaze landed on Reborn.

"I'm going to get something do drink. Would you like anything, Reborn-sensei?" you asked. 

"No, thank you," Reborn replied. You shrugged and walked out the door to find the nearest vending machine. Once you had your drink in hand, you returned to the committee room and found it completely void of life.

October 23rd Namimori High School

You softly hummed a familiar tune while your fingers tapped against the keys of your keyboard. Though most of the articles were complete, you still had to go back and edit parts of the headlining story, since Haruka found more things to add to the story. You loved the girl to pieces, but you could have lived without her annoying habit of throwing information at you that she _insisted_ had to go in the story. So to appease her, you had to miraculously weasel the new information into a preexisting story. 

Oh well. At least it wasn't _pointless_ information.

With a sigh of approval, you typed the last bit of the new information into the story and leaned back in your chair. Just as you had begun to relax, the committee room's door was flung open and caused you to jump. Your (e/c) eyes blinked owlishly as you readjusted the frames on your nose and turned to see who your visitor was. To your disbelief and utter surprise, Hibari Kyoya stood in the doorway with his usual glare in place. 

"May I help you with something, Hibari-san?" you questioned skeptically. Since you were a fairly good student, your encounters with Hibari were rather rare--unless he needed something. If he needed any information about local events or rumors around school, then he generally came to the Newspaper Committee. Even though you were just the editor, you were the one that always had to deal with Hibari. 

"I need any information you have on those boxes," was Hibari's demanding answer. Your eyebrows rose in surprise at his reply. 

"The Trick or Treat boxes? Since when have you been interested in silly, school traditions?" you asked playfully with a slight tilt of your lips. His eyes narrowed at you but said nothing in response. 

"I'm kidding, Hibari-san," you said and turned back to the computer to print off the information. "The story should pop out of the printer here in a second." 

Right on cue, the bulky machine in the corner of the room spat out a few sheets of paper with all the information about the school spectacle. In just a few long strides, Hibari walked over to the printer and quickly plucked the papers from the machine. His eyes skimmed over the unimportant information until he landed on a small blurb about the Watcher. Unfortunately, it didn't tell him much of anything new, but he found one bit of information that greatly aided him. 

The Watcher was female. 

"Find anything helpful?" you asked, still amused that he was interested in the bizarre event. 

"You could say that," he responded and made his way toward the door. "I'll be keeping these."

"You're welcome!" was the last thing he heard from you before he left the room and ventured back down the hall. 

Though there was always possibility of someone outside of the school responsible for the boxes, he was almost certain that it was someone _within_ the school itself. With the new information in combination with what he previously collected, he narrowed down the suspects to five people.

And _you_ were one of them.

October 29th Namimori High School

Immediately after he received the information from the Newspaper Committee, Hibari ordered his men to keep a close eye on the other four suspects and monitor their movements while he kept his eye on you. In the days that followed, the suspect list dwindled down as new boxes appeared until the only remaining suspect was you. You met all the criteria needed to be the Watcher: You had access to the student body, since you were in the Newspaper Committee; you blended in to remain unnoticed; and you had connections all over the school. His greatest bit of evidence was something strange he noticed during his observation of you. A few minutes before each box was discovered, he lost sight of you and wouldn't find you again until twenty minutes later. With that in mind, he believed he had all the evidence he needed that proved _you_ were guilty for the distribution of those boxes and was determined to make you pay for the havoc you wrought upon both his sanity and the school.

The only things he couldn't fit together were the fox mask and the golden eyes. 

He watched as you walked down the hall with that loudmouthed journalist, Ishikawa, toward your homeroom class. Right after the two of you entered the room, noise flooded the hallway. Immediately, Hibari stormed up to the room, and the sight before him both surprised and infuriated him. A small, black box with an indigo bow tied around it was innocently perched on your desk. The utter surprise and curiosity on your face quickly deflated his suspicion of you. His men thoroughly scanned the school that morning before even the teachers arrived and found the school spotless, so it ruled out the possibility that you previously placed it there. Not to mention, he had watched you _all_ morning, and not once had you disappeared from his sight. 

Though it was possible, he found it highly unlikely that you would send a box to yourself.

His dangerously narrowed eyes dared anyone in the room to cause a commotion over the newly found box. As your own (e/c) irises met his, you swallowed the small lump in your throat and placed the unwrapped box in your bag for safe keeping. A few moans of disappointment echoed through the room, but your classmates decided to take their seats before Hibari punished them.

As the bell for class to begin chimed, Hibari left the classroom with seething rage as he searched for the first person he saw skipping class.

**~*~*~*~**

"What do you think is in there?" Haruka asked while both of you stared at the black and indigo box in the center of the committee room's table.

"Your guess is as good as mine," you said and picked up the small box. "Let's find out, shall we?" 

You turned the box over in your hand and removed the ribbon before you worked on the paper. Once the box was rid of its confines, you pulled the top of the box off and peered inside. A look of awe crossed your features as you delicately plucked the object out of the mostly cotton filled box. You held the golden earring from the clasp while the delicate, white flower and indigo gemstones dangled freely below it. Tied to the clasp was a small strip of paper with, what you assumed, a fortune.

"Huh? An earring? Why would you only get one?" Haruka asked in great confusion. "And what's with that look on your face?"

"Haruka-chan," you said gently, "do you remember when I first transferred to Namimori?"

"Ummmm...It was during our third year of middle school, right?" Haruka questioned. You nodded in response and continued.

"Do you happen to remember how sad I was those first few months?"

"Tch, of course I remember. It took me _forever_ to get you to smile," Haruka answered with a scoff.

"Well, I don't remember if I told you _why_ I was so sad. Just before I moved, I lost one of my favorite earrings. They were a gift my grandmother gave to me before she passed away, and I was so upset that I had lost part of a family heirloom," you supplied. "I kept the other one at home in my jewelry box in case I ever found it again. It seems good fortune is on my side. I don't know how it got here, but I'm glad."

"Awww! That's so touching! It's got to be a charm for sure! What does the fortune say?" Haruka asked with a wide grin on her face. You carefully juggled the delicate earring between your fingers and lifted the white strip of paper attached. 

" _'You will gain one, lost power; all because of one, small flower.'_ " 

"Oooo sounds mysterious. You're not going to turn into some superhero, are you?" Haruka teased.

"No, nothing of the sort," you answered with a smile.

"What kind of flower is that by the way? I've never seen anything like it," she asked.

"It's called a Foxglove. The actual plant isn't native around here, so the likelihood of seeing one is pretty rare," you replied and placed the earring back in the box before you put it in your bag. "Anyway, let's get back to the paper."

"Right," Haruka said and pulled out a notebook. "With your own Trick or Treat box, that makes fourteen boxes discovered. Man, I was hoping to find out who got the last box before the paper got printed, but I guess that's not going to happen. At least we have the rest of them!"

With a few minor alterations, the two of you completed the final copy of the paper, and it was ready to be published. 

"I'm going to go ahead and get these printed off, so we can distribute them before school starts in the morning," Haruka said as she gathered her things and left the room with the finished copy in hand. You paused for a moment before you reached into your bag and pulled the earring back out. You carefully lifted it and removed the fortune attached to it. Though you had read the bulk of the fortune aloud, you hadn't read what was in fine print below it.

_'You owe me one~ Kufufufufu~'_

October 30th Abandoned Building Rooftop

Reborn made his way through the slumbering, void city with the exception of a few flickering lights inside homes and the occasional movement of the nocturnal wildlife. His stoic gaze remained unaltered from the night's crisp air as he maneuvered through the streets to the requested location. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to travel too far before he reached the meeting place. He climbed up the fire escape to the roof and made his was across to the figure that leaned against the roof's railing.

"I'll have you know, I'm missing out on my beauty sleep," Reborn teased and hopped up on the railing. A feminine chuckle met his ears in response. 

"I'm terribly sorry, Reborn, but I have a few questions I think you know the answers to."

"Shoot," was his simple response. 

"You knew it was me the whole time, didn't you?"

"Not in the beginning. I had my suspicions, but I didn't know for certain until that last meeting for the Newspaper Committee," Reborn answered. 

"I figured as much. It's nearly impossible to keep anything from you." Another feminine chuckle met his ears while a small glint of reflected light caught his attention. "Why did you tell Hibari that we were doing the story over the Trick or Treat boxes?" 

Reborn's only response was a sly smirk.

"You almost blew my cover with that stunt, Reborn. Do you know how hard it was to keep up that innocent charade with Hibari watching me like a hawk?"

"If I recall correctly, (Y/n), you were never innocent to begin with," Reborn responded and earned a small pout from you.

"How mean," you replied and adjusted the spectacles perched on your nose. "And lastly, how did Mukuro know about my earring or the boxes?" 

"He found the earring himself and asked me about it," Reborn answered honestly. "As for the boxes, I assume he learned about it from Chrome." 

"Great, that means I genuinely own him a favor," you groaned.

"I'm sure you'll be fine,' Reborn chuckled in response and jumped down from the railing. "I'm heading back to Tsuna's. Try and stay out of trouble."

"Can't make any promises," you teased and glanced over your shoulder as he walked toward the fire escape. Within a few minutes, he climbed back down and made his way home for some sleep. 

Your gaze returned back to the slumbering city, and for a few brief moments, you enjoyed the night air. Your mind briefly wandered to the tradition you created when you first arrived to the normally peaceful town of Namimori. It saddened you that you were in your last year of high school, and the tradition you spent so much time on would ultimately come to an end after your graduation. Maybe, one day, someone else would have the same drive you did and continue your tradition. 

'Oh well," you said with a sigh and closed your eyes for a brief moment, "I'm not going to let it dampen my spirits. I still have way too many adventures to look forward to. Besides, I still have one more box to deliver." 

Leisurely, you lifted your hand and removed the thin, metal glasses you normally wore. You slowly opened your eyes and set your golden gaze over the darkened city.

October 31st Namimori High School

Hibari arrived at school the same time he had every morning and began his usual rounds. Much to his relief, it was the final day of October, which meant the curse of the Trick or Treat boxes finally came to an end. He made his way back to the Disciplinary Committee's meeting room and stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he opened the door. In the middle of his desk was a small box with a card on one side and a fox mask on the other. His eyes narrowed violently and approached his desk as a bubble of rage filled his gut. All he saw was red after he read the comment written on the card.

_Trick or Treat~_


End file.
